Framework: The Making Of The Weeknd’s “Call Out My Name” Video With Grant Singer

The Weeknd released his EP My Dear Melancholy, in late March. The Frank Dukes-produced opening track “Call Out My Name” seems to be about his 10-month relationship with Selena Gomez, lining up with events during their time together. Its music video is directed by filmmaker Grant Singer, who also created several of The Weeknd’s most memorable visuals. In the clip, the Toronto singer belts out the track while walking through deserted streets, an empty cinema, and a fire-lit landscape. There’s also a standout scene when he vomits flying bats.

“We pass a streetlamp that turns on perfectly on the opening beat,” Grant Singer tells Genius. “When I first heard the song, I knew that drop happened about 45, 55 seconds into the song… It was this big moment. I don’t even know how I thought of it but I just wanted this moment of bats flying out of his mouth.”

Singer credits VFX company The Mill for their work on the video. “You’ll see the edges are completely perfect [in the theater scene],” he explains. “That was done by my obsession and The Mill’s great work, because there was maybe a little bit of spill, but I wanted it to be perfect, so we spent some time cleaning that up. The beat is so strong and he lands on the beat. I immediately was like, ‘Okay, we have to whip and then sharp land on the beat.’”

He also describes the origins of the fire-lit setting in the video. “It’s a real burnt forest that I think was burned in the fires from a year or two ago and I was just stuck by how beautiful and terrifying it looked,” he says. “This felt very symbolic and perfectly aligned with what we were trying to do visually and atmospherically.”